213 Vol. 4 pt. 16 Patch 3.0: A Change of Pace (1/2)
Ryouta helps Alice with the dishes once him and Serra are done eating, and by the time that they've all cleaned up, changed, and brushed their teeth after being reminded to by Alice, Ryouta wants nothing more than to just plop back down onto bed and be lazy for the rest of the day – no, the rest of his existence.
Pulled muscles suck.
Alas, Alice is ensuring that he stays downstairs. At least she's letting him lie down on the couch.
”Why can't I just lie down in bed?” Ryouta asks.
”I told you! Cassandra wishes for us to be waiting for her!” Alice says with a pout. ”Geez, my hero, I am going to begin thinking that you do not listen to me!”
”So, why can't I just lie down in bed?”
Alice looks at him ready to pout something fierce and to shout about him not listening some more, but then she sees that teasing, smug smile on his face.
That makes her pout even more than she would have if he really wasn't listening.
Serra, picking up on the fact that Ryouta is teasing Alice, walks over to him and plops her rear down onto his abdomen.
Ryouta immediately cringes and groans in pain.
”He-hey! That seriously hurts!” Ryouta whines to his deaf munchkin of a girlfriend.
Serra then lies down on top of him, causing even more pain despite how light and small she is.
”Alice, save me,” Ryouta pleads.
”That is what you get! I cook you breakfast and remind you to brush your teeth and you still tease me. Hmph,” Alice pouts.
”One, this seriously hurts, please help. Two, you're really cute when you pout and go 'hmph.' Please do it more.”
Alice blushes and gives him a playful ”hmph” sound before coming over to help him. ”Now, now, Serra. As much as I appreciate you avenging me, it is not polite to purposely cause him more pain,” she says, pulling on Serra's arm with one hand while wheeling back with her other.
Serra has no idea what's going on other than the fact that Alice is trying to pull her off of Ryouta, but she gives in without much effort.
That's when the front door opens, but only a sliver of the way.
”H-hey,” Cassandra says.
Ryouta and Alice look over at the door, and Serra looks over when she sees the others looking.
”Ah! You are back,” Alice says as she finishes pulling Serra off of Ryouta.
”Y-yeah,” Cassandra says, still not opening the rest of the door.
”Everything alright?” Ryouta asks.
”I – I don't know.”
That's enough to make them worried. ”What's wrong?”
”Nothing, but…”
”Come in and relax!” Alice says.
”Is… everybody there?”
”Yep,” Ryouta answers.
They hear her take a deep breath.
”Close your eyes,” Cassandra says. ”And make sure Serra's are closed.
They close their eyes, and Alice covers up Serra's eyes for her.
”Is – is everybody's eyes closed?” Cassandra asks.
Ryouta and Alice confirm their eyes are closed.
They hear the door open the rest of the way and then shut.
”O…okay, you can look,” Cassandra says.
Ryouta and Alice open their eyes, and Alice takes her hands off of Serra's eyes.
Cassandra's hair that was once reaching halfway down her back is now struggling to even reach her shoulders. Rather than keeping it straight, it's a bit fluffier and sticking out rather than just hanging straight down. Her bangs are slightly higher as well, and in general, she looks younger and more energetic. It would even be honest to say that she looks kinder and more feminine now.
Truthfully, none of them would have ever expected her to get a hairstyle like this. She wouldn't have even believed it herself! Yet, here she is, with a hairstyle that may be unbelievable on her but it looks great nonetheless.
”What… what do you think? It's – it's shorter than I was expecting, and… I don't really… know what to think,” Cassandra practically whimpers out.
She doesn't get an answer which makes her heart sink further into her stomach, feeling as if she's made a huge mistake and thinking about a million and one ways that they're going to hate it, but then she gets hugged and kissed by Ryouta.
When Ryouta pulls away, he sees his beautiful girlfriend with reddened cheeks and tears coming from her eyes. ”Why – why didn't you say something sooner!” Cassandra says, forming fists and gently smacking them against his chest.